He just happened to be in the right place at the
right time to perform a kinda, sorta heroic act.
And, the costume fit . . . kinda, sorta.

When did the idea for this series first strike
you?

Billy has actually been with me for quite some
time. Originally, my
idea was to do Billy as an all-ages comic book series.
After reading amazing
comics that could be enjoyed by all ages -- Bone, Hero
Bear and the Kid, et cetera --
I felt that there really needed to more of this kind
of stuff. It was just so
much fun, and I wanted to get my two cents in.

How did you get Eric Powell on board to provide
the artwork?

I'd talked with a few artists here and there, but
nothing really ever jelled. Finally,
I decided that maybe Billy would be better off in book
form and altered my original comic
book pitch into a book pitch.

Eric came on board because I asked him very sweetly
and batted my baby blues.

No, really, he just thought the project was cool,
and wanted to try something outside
of comics for a change. And let me say, I'm really
glad he did. His illustrations
rock on this. Amazing stuff.

Have you ever tried your hand at cartooning or
any other visual arts?

I used to draw quite a bit when I was a youngling.
In fact, I did all the
illustrations for my high school yearbook. The ability
to draw comes in pretty
handy when you're trying to explain something to an
artist, and words just
aren't cutting it. You'd be amazed what a simple
doodle can accomplish.

When did you first start writing comic
books?

So very long ago, it seems. My first published
comic book story came out in
1988. (Yes, there were still dinosaurs then.) It was
an adaptation of a horror
short story that I did for a collection of horror
stories called Taboo.
My next published work was a series that I did for
Caliber Comics called Swords of Shar-pei in 2000.

How did you come to make the leap from comic
book writer and pop culture journalist to
novelist?

It got sort of tough in the comic book market in
the late nineties, and I had a mortgage
to pay. Around that time, I met an amazing editor
over at Simon & Schuster named Lisa Clancy,
and the novel part of writing career started there. I
did some stuff based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer
and Angel television series.

Who do you think is your most discerning
audience?

I think they're all discerning these days.
People want something good - something entertaining,
thought-provoking,
exciting, and funny - for their hard-earned cash, and
I don't blame them one bit.
When I buy a book, that's exactly what I'm looking
for. I want the writer to have
done his job. It's what I bring to every book I
write, whatever the age group.

Speaking of leaping, your bibliography has grown
by
leaps and bounds over the past few years, with many
collaborative efforts between you and Christopher
Golden. How did the two of you meet?

I think I met Chris when World War I was just about
wrapping up.
Actually, I met Chris in the late nineties at a horror
convention in Stamford, Connecticut.
He was really interested in getting into comics, and
we traded secrets.
I worked with him on some comic stuff, and he helped
me get my foot in the door
of the book writing department. In fact, he was the
guy that introduced me to Lisa Clancy over at
Simon & Schuster. We've been best pallies ever since.

Two Golden & Sniegoski projects - the children's
fantasy series OutCast
and the comic book Talent -
have been optioned. Any news on either front?

Both projects are with Universal Pictures, and
scripts are being worked on.
That's pretty much what I know at this time.

Give us a taste of Crashing Paradise, the fourth
book
of the dark fantasy series The Menagerie,
which you also write with Golden.

As the threat of world devouring Demogorgon draws
closer to earth, the heroes of
The Menagerie must square off against a collection of
their most deadly enemies.
I really enjoyed the scope of this one, and the fans
seem to be especially excited because
this is an Eve-centric book. We find out quite a bit
about her past and how she came to be
the way she is.

Your mythology-based quartet of novels called The Fallen
became a limited series on ABC Family. The first
portion aired in 2006 and had a huge audience. The second and third parts are going to air in August 2007.
Have you seen any early cuts from the next part?

ABC Family is supposed to be sending me a DVD of
the next four hours, and I'm [waiting for that].
I'm really curious as to what they've done. I
understand that they've deviated
quite a bit from the books, sort of going off in their
own direction.

From what I understand, they're planning on airing
the new episodes on August 3rd,
4th, and 5th. I think they're making it a whole Fallen
weekend, airing the original film,
followed by the new material. It's all very exciting.

You have an awesome dog named Mulder. Is he your
sidekick, or are you his?

I really think he believes that I'm his sidekick,
and the more I think about it,
he just might be right. I've never seen a more spoiled
animal.
I just thank God he treats me so nicely and lets me
live in his house.

If you were, say, Dogboy, what would be your
coolest superpower?

Hmmmm, let's see. As Dogboy, I'd have the uncanny
ability to sleep twenty-two out of
the twenty-four hours a day, and be able to eat seven
times my body weight in those
twenty-two hours. Now THAT'S power!

Anything else on the horizon?

I've got a new series of books coming out from
Simon & Schuster: Aladdin called The Brimstone
Network.
It's a horror/adventure series about a boy who must
assemble a team of supernaturally-enhanced
misfits to combat a growing paranormal threat to the
world. It's a real blast [to write],
and I'm wrapping up the first book as we speak.
There will be three books to start, with (hopefully)
more to follow.
The first book should come out in the fall of 2008.

I've got two more Billy Hooten: Owlboy books on the
way, then a new novel
coming from Ace Books in May 2008 called A Kiss Before
the Apocalypse.
I'm very excited about that one, and think it just
might be the coolest thing I've written.